Geneva raises alert level amid police search after Paris attacks

Swiss police on Thursday said they are "actively searching" for suspects in Geneva, adding that the alert level in the city had been raised.

United Nations security officers stand guard outside the UN European headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, 10 December , 2015. Reuters/Pierre Albouy

A statement from the Canton of Geneva's security department said it had received information on Wednesday from Swiss federal authorities concerning "suspicious individuals likely to be in Geneva or the Geneva area."

"As part of the investigation following the Paris attacks, the Geneva police and its partners are actively looking for these individuals", the statement added.

A security guard at the United Nations in Geneva told Reuters that Swiss authorities were searching for four people believed to be in the city.

According to a Parisian police source, there is no direct connection with the 13 November attacks in Paris where 130 people died.

Geneva police have increased their alert level

Extra police have been deployed across the city which lies on Switzerland's border with France and is just over 500 kilometres from Paris.

Geneva is the headquarters for more than thirty international organisations. 

Among them, the United Nations European headquarters where security guards have been positionned carrying sub-machine guns.